Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-11-26
REST AND UNREST.
A TREATISE on SLEEP AND
SLEEPLESsNESS.
Position During Slumber-
Remedies for Insomnia.

couple of articles which, considering the
Importance of the topic, are full Of inter
est. The writer thinks it wide Of the
mark to say that eight or any number of
hours are enough for any one to Sleep
The needs Of individuals vary, and the
larger and more active the brain the
more sleep it must have. Webster slept
nine hours out of the twenty-four the
greater part of his life Other great men
have also taken the same time for sleep.
To get the rest required by the BRAIN
worker it is necessary that he should be
able to sleep at will Bonaparte possessed
this happy faculty, and NJ. DeLesseps is
said to have SO trained himself that he can
sleep at any time, and even 4 whole day
and night at stretch, If opportunity
should offer. Much of the nervous irri-
liability and weakness of young people is
attributed by the writer to lack of suf-
fieient sleep.
ABOUT THE POSITION IN WHICH TO SLEEP.
AS to the position in which one should
sleep authorities greatly differ The writer
says: observations made upon 235 SOL
diers show that 37.5 per cent slept upon
the right side, % per cent. upon the left
and So per cent on the back A physi-
clan, however. says that it is better to lie
on the right side in the absence of special
diseases, such as lung disease. rendering it
desirable to lie on the weak side, so as to
leave the healthy lung free to expand.
When rest is taken on the right side the
L. ,,1oooI ,,bn ha
more easily out of the stomach into the in
testines, and the weight of the stomach
does not compress the upper portion of the
intestines. To show how difficult it is for
doctors to agree, their opinions on the
proper position during sleep may be con-
tinued. One of them maintains that lying
fiat on the back, with the limbs relaxed,
would seem to secure the greatest amount
of rest for the muscular system This is
the position assumed in the most exhaust
ing diseases, and it is generally hailed as
token of revival when the patient volun-
tarily turns on the side. Sleeping with
arms thrown over the head is to be depre-
Gated, because it creates a tendency to
cramp and cold in the arms, and some
times seem to cause headaches and dreams.
On the other hand, 4 physician says that
sleep should be taken with the face down.
ward. Lying with the great weight of the
stomach, heart, intestines and other organs
pressing on the numerous nerves above the
spine must in time work injury. Even the
half weight, as when person lies on his
side, must have its bad effects, it is said
The spine and nerves are also abnormally
treated by the common way of resting.
Sleeping with the face downward is called
the natural way"
Again, it is claimed that healthy per-
son frequently changes his position during
the night, lying on either side or upon the
back. Some physicians contend that it is
injurious to the liver to lie on the right
side, is bad for the heart to lie on the left
side, and that sleeping on the back will
produce nightmare. One doctor recon-
mends sleeping with the pillows under the
feet instead of the head, especially if one
be afflicted with nervous disorders. A
London medical journal advocates ham
mocks in place of beds, and the Lancet
maintains that to sleep well and be well
every one should sleep alone. No two
person. it says, ''no matter who they are,
should habitually sleep together. The
one will thrive, the other will lose. This
is the law. The case of the aged David
and the youthful maid who sought to i'm
part physical energy to the king in his
senility occurs to mind. The grandmother
with her little grandchild is another case
in point. The aged one keeps strong the
little one pines away and becomes en-
feebled"
HOW THE sLUMBER Is GRADED.
Observations made some little time ago
with scientific accuracy slow that for
perfectly healthy man the first hour of
slumber is very light; after one hour and
fifteen minutes the depth of sleep increases
rapidly, and reaches its maximum point at
one hour and forty-tive minutes the curve
then falls quickly to about two hours and
fifteen minutes and afterward more grad
ually. At about four hours and thirty
minutes there is a second small rise, which
reaches its maximum at five hours and
thirty minutes, after which the curve
again gradually approaches the base line
until the time of awakening. Expert
ments made upon persons not perfectly
healthy, or after having made some exer-
ton, gave curves of different form. The
curve referred to is the course of the line
in the diagrammatic scale.
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP.
The British Medical Journal describes the
science of sleep:
Each successive graduation in sleep is
marked by the inclusion of nervous sys-
tenn, which is for the time being shut off,
so tospeak, from participation in the gem
eral life-function of the individual until,
when the maximum intensity is attained.
nothing is left but the purely animal-one
might almost say the vegetative-life.
The brain shares in the need, which is
everywhere apparent, of periods of rest.
The products of cerebral activity accumu-
late more rapidly than they are elimin-
ated, and period therefore arrives when
the tissues are no longer able to do their
work. The result is an invincible feeling
of indisposition to exertion, physical or
mental. The temporary or involuntary
cessation of activity is at once followed by
diminution of the blood supply; the an
@mia SO induced, being, therefore, a conse-
quence, and not a cause of the state of
repose.
THE various parts of the nervous system
are not all involved simultaneously or to
the same extent. The centers governing
voluntary movement are the first to be
dHccteu, do Steu III tHe nOuulUR Oh the neaQ
and the closure of the eyelids, and the
body, if not prevented, tends to assume the
position of repose determined by the laws
of gravity. The special senses soon follow,
but here again they are not abrogated en-
masse. Sigh! is the first to go, the stimu-
lus no longer reaching that portion of the
cerebrum where it can give rise to defin-
lite sensation, even where the closure of the
lids has not shut off external stimuli alto
| gether.
Hearing and smell are remarkably
persistent, and, except in the deepest
sleep, may be said to be only dulled and
not extinguished. Every one is familiar
with the ease with which sleep is put to
an end by unaccustomed noise, even of
slight intensity, or, better still. by the ces-
sation of any monotonous sound, as for in
stance, the awakening of travellers by rail
or steamboat on any stoppage of the train
or machinery. Instances are on record,
too, where the inhabitants of house have
been reused simply by the smell of tobacco,
INDUCED in by inexperienced or incautious
burglars. The persistent sensibility of
these senses NAV to some extent he ar